Don't Get Tired of Preaching the Same Truths to Yourself

We are prone to forgetfulness. Whether it’s names, where we put our wallet, why we opened our browser, or what the capital of Vermont is, we are a forgetful people! We’re also prone to spiritual amnesia and forget God’s kindness, his promises, and his character; we tend to simply forget him.

While forgetting the capital of Vermont likely has very few implications for your life, spiritual forgetfulness is catastrophically dangerous.

Look at the sentiment of some of these New Testament writers: 

Phil. 3:1 – “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”

Jude 1:5a – “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt…”

Rom. 15:14-15 – “¹⁴ I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵  But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God.”

1 John 1:21 - “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.”

Peter as he is dying says, “¹²  Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. ¹³  I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴  since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. ¹⁵  And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” (2 Pet. 1:12-15)

Paul, John, Jude, Peter, and many other Biblical authors write things to their readers and hearers that they already know. Why? We’re forgetful!

What strikes a chord of worship in our heart today bleeds out as white noise in our souls tomorrow. It is easy to get spiritual amnesia and to forget the things of God! So, hearing the same message about God over and over and over again is, as Paul says, “safe for you.”

We Need Constant Encouragement to Remember to Keep Going!

When I played football, the coach didn’t need to tell us we were playing to “win the game.” We knew this truth very well! However, in the 4^th quarter, when your body is telling you it doesn’t really want to get hit one more time, it’s encouraging to hear someone say, “Don’t give up now. You worked so hard to get here. We’re here to win.” (Perhaps with a few more choice words that I won’t write in a Christian devotional!).

We knew we were there to win, but we needed to be told again to keep going!

So too in the faith. To hear about the blood of Jesus being shed for you, to hear about God’s love for you, to remind yourself of your favorite Psalm though you’ve read it dozens of times, “…though you know [spiritual truths] and are established in [those spiritual truths], it right to stir you up by way of reminder…” (2 Pet. 1:12b-13, paraphrased).

It is helpful when life is hard to hear the historical truths about God again. It is holy when life is happy to hear the higher truth than the present joys of life, that Heaven is our true home.

So don’t be ashamed to preach the same message to your soul again and again! To hear the same message over your soul again and again. To share with others the same truths again and again. To pray the same prayers of gratitude to God again and again.

Chances are we forgot anyway or need the encouragement to keep going! So it is good to hear again.

What if we genuinely did this in our own hearts:

I heard of a story of a newly instated pastor of a local church who, on his first Sunday, preached an awesome sermon. Everyone complimented him on it. They were glad and grateful God called him to be their pastor. The next week he began preaching, and about 5 minutes into the sermon everyone realized he was preaching the same message as the week before! The third week he was preaching the same thing again. Someone finally stood up in the congregation and asked why he was preaching the same thing again and again.

The preacher replied he realized throughout the week that no one in the congregation had applied his message, so he figured he would say the same thing again until they applied it!

Sometimes we need to hear and preach to ourselves the same message because… it hasn’t really changed our soul just yet!

Don’t be afraid to say the same things over and over again. You’re likely saving your soul and others in the process!

Christ in All,
Toriano Mayo